Assistantships and Funding Opportunities

The department offers competitive teaching and research assistantship opportunities for both MS and PhD applicants. These assistantships provide a waiver for the cost of tuition in addition to a monthly stipend. You can indicate your interest in being considered for an assistantship on the application for admissions.

All applicants interested in receiving an assistantship will be considered during the admissions review process and applicants do not need to contact individual faculty members about receiving support for an assistantship.

Other Funding Opportunities

Applicants to the graduate program will be considered for five awards that celebrate primary areas of excellence within the Department. These awards are given in addition to any assistantship funding that is offered. We encourage prospective students to describe their qualifications for one of these awards in their application statement of purpose.

Lee Gray Scholarship
(range: $3,000 – $6,800)

This award is given to students who are committed to research and teaching in the field of agricultural economics. Lee Gray was a faculty member and former Chair in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU. He was particularly known for his excellence in teaching and his love for working with and advising students in agricultural economics.

Robert Young Scholarship
(range: $4,500 – $9,500)

This award is given to students who have a demonstrated interest in research related to environmental and natural resource economics, particularly pertaining to water resource economics. Robert Young was an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU whose impactful research focused on the economics of water management and policy in the Western US and globally.

Marie Livingston Climate Adaptation Scholarship
(range: $2,500 – $5,700)

This award is given to students who have a demonstrated interest in research focused on economically sound adaptation to climate change in terms of the use and/or allocation of natural resources (e.g., air, water, soil, forests) by households, firms, and governments. Dr. Livingston was the first Ph.D. student to specialize in Natural Resource Economics at CSU.  She has had an extremely impactful career in federal and local government as well as in academics focusing on the efficient use of natural resources.

Ronald Tinnermeier Memorial Scholarship
(range: $5,500 – $11,000)

This award is given to students who have a demonstrated interest in research related to areas of international development. Dr. Tinnermeier was a professor in the department and a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development on agricultural finance and rural development to several foreign countries, including Honduras and Costa Rica, for their coffee programs.

Utterback-Normann DARE Graduate Assistantship
(range: $25,000 – $50,000)

This award is given to students who have demonstrated excellent merit in academia, with a preference given to foreign national applicants. Further information may be requested of potential awardees. Ms. Utterback-Normann received a M.S. from the department and spent many years working in Africa to foster agricultural businesses and economic development.

Conference Travel Funding

The department offers funding opportunities to current students that are traveling to participate in academic conferences. The criteria for obtaining funding is described here.